Wed Mar 28, 2012 at 17:08:48 PM EDT

Del. Bob Marshall (Prince William) submitted 17,100 signatures to the Virginia State Board of Elections Wednesday to qualify for the June 12 GOP primary ballot for U.S. Senate.

"The credit in reaching this goal goes to hundreds of grass-root volunteers who spent countless hours gathering petition signatures while I was busy on the people's business in the Virginia General Assembly session,'' Marshall said in a statement.

*"We're against the IUD and pills, too. They don't prevent ovulation and conception, they prevent implantation, which is abortion."
*Marshall "railed" against Norplant, saying, "It's a real tribute to women's intelligence...They feel so irresponsible they can't do something once a day?"
*"When asked about abortion in the case of incest, Marshall replied that sometimes incest is voluntary. In response to abortions in the case of rape, Marshall said, 'Your origins should not be held against you [referring to the victim's unborn child]. The woman becomes a sin-bearer of the crime, because the right of a child predominates over the embarrassment of the woman.'"
*"During the 2012 legislative session, Marshall and other Republicans supported a measure to require women in Virginia to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound procedure before being allowed to have a legal abortion."
*He stated: "The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children... In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."
*He's a raging homophobe, including statements like, "If I needed a blood transfusion and the guy next to me had committed sodomy 14 times in the last month, I'd be worried."

In sum, this guy almost - but not quite! - makes George "Felix Macacawitz" Allen look sane, moderate, and reasonable. The scary thing is, given how far to the right Allen has lurched in every area, even "Sideshow Bob" can't make him look sane, moderate, or reasonable. This should be a fun Republican primary; go "Sideshow Bob," that's all I can say! :)

As a small business owner, Marine, wife, and mother, I have always worked hard to serve my country, my Commonwealth, and my community. And over the last eight months, I have had the honor of traveling across Virginia to discuss our country's future with Virginians from all walks of life.

On the campaign trail, I met with business owners, service members, educators, federal employees and other Virginians, and they all expressed a similar concern: Washington is broken and we need leaders who can help fix it. Elections matter and I believe strongly that we have to break the cycle of sending people to Washington who are more interested in fighting with each other than fighting for our families and businesses.

We face a crucial election in November, and I am convinced there is no better candidate to serve Virginia in the U.S. Senate than former Governor Tim Kaine. Tim has an honorable record of service to our state, a tireless dedication to improving the lives of Virginia families, and he will bring commonsense solutions to Washington that will put our country on a solid foundation for economic growth.

I continue to believe our political system is in need of a more diverse body of opinions. My campaign proved that by getting engaged all of us have an opportunity to positively impact Virginia. The Commonwealth is best served when a variety of citizens from all backgrounds, both genders and of varying age and ethnicity participate in the democratic process. Today, women like me are underrepresented in electoral politics. I applaud the work that organizations like The Farm Team do to engage more women in the political process.

As I move forward, I am excited to continue engaging Virginians in this important election, and working hard with Tim Kaine and others to make our Commonwealth a better place.

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